Music writing machine



March 1, 1932. G. E. UNDERWOOD MUSIC WRITING MACHINE Filed May 19, 1950 6 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR 67? 7'55 5 U/YDEMD HA5 ATTORNEY March 1, 1932.

G. UNDERWOOD MUSIC WRITING MACHINE Filed May 19, 1950 6 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. 647415 aa/vmma BY 1Q HIS ATTORNEY March 1, 1932'.

G. E. UNDERWOOD MUSIC WRITING MACHINE Filed May 19, 1950 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 HAS A TTORNE Y March 1, 1932. G. E. UNDERWOOD MUSIC WRITING MACHINE Filed May 19, 1930 6 Sheets-Sheet 4 TRANSPOSITION BAR INTERVAL START MOTOR TIME.

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INVENTORJ GATE-3. 5mm BY 4 6444 19/5 ATTORNEY March 1, 1932. G UNDERWOOD 1,847,282

- MUSIC WRITING MACHINE Filed May 19, 1930 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTOR. GATES E1 U/VDfPh/OOD BY 6% M HIS ATTORNEY March 1932. e. E. UNDERWOOD MUSIC WRITING MACHINE Filed May 19, 1930 6 Sheets-Sheet 6 no 0 0 o 32 MV.-Q.WW 86 F why ow 3 7 FM OOZOBOO I INVENTOR.

6797215 5 ll/YOfQh/OOD ///S ATTORNEY Patented Mar. 1, 1932 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE GATES E. UNDERWOOD, OF SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, ASSIGNOR OF THREE-FIFTHS TO L. K. CAMERON, OF SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA MUSIC WRITING MACHINE. (v

Application filed May 19, I930. Serial No. 453,485.

My invention relates to a machine for writ ing down music as it is played on a piano or other keyboard.

An object of my invention is to provide a machine that will record the notes on staffs as the music is played on a piano or other keyboard;

Another object is to provide a machine that will record the notes in a key different from the one in which they are played on the keyboard. a

- Another object is to provide a machine that will write the parts for thevarious instruments of an orchestra as they are played on the keyboard of the controlling instrument.

The invention possesses numerous other objects' and features of advantage, some of which, with the foregoing, will be set forth in the following description of myinvention. It is to be understood that I do not limit myself to this disclosure of species of my invention, as I may adopt variant embodiments thereof within the scope of the claims.

Referring to the drawings:

Figure l is a front elevation of the machine of my invention.

Figure 2 is a side elevation looking at the right hand side of Figure 1. Certain portions of the machine arecut away as indicated by the broken line 22 on Figure 3 to better show the interior mechanism.

Figure 3 is a plan view looking down on top of the machine.

Figure 4. isa side elevation of the machine from the same angle as the view in Figure 2 but with the control panel which was cu away for that view in place.

Figure 5 is a detail elevation of the friction gear and the timing mechanism viewed from the left hand side of Figure 1.

Figure 6 is a detail front elevation of the platen roll and ribbon reeling mechanism.

Figure 7 is adi'agrammatic view of the electric wiring from the piano action to the timing gear and to the various actuating electro-magnets.

Figure 8 is a sample section of the strip on which the staffs are printed and on which the machine writes. I

- Figure 9 is a plan view of the contactor bar, a sectional View of which appears in Figure 7. p

Figure 10 is an elevation of the bar shown in Figure 9 looking at the side appearing at the bottom in that view.

Broadly stated my invention comprises 'a machine for recording musical notes in their proper position on staffs as the notes are played on a fpiano or similar keyboard. For simplicity -o be considered in connection with a piano keyboard. I

The machine comprises a mechanism for reeling a'strip of paper, on which musical staffs are printed, over a platen, over, which an inked ribbon passes continuously. The

.notes played are detected by contact switches,

installed in a piano, where they will be actuated by the hammer action as the various notes are struck, either separately, or in chords. These switches control the flow of electric current through electro-magnets, which in turn actuate armatures fixed to levers carrying the printing symbols. The symbols are thus caused to strike the strip where it passes over the platen and underthe ribbon, and to record the various notes played in their proper positionon the staffs.

Transposition of music from one key to explanation, the invention will" another is accomplished by shifting the popower; and drives the output shaft 22 at apformed on the end of the arm 49 proximately fifteen revolutions per minute.-

Mounted on the shaft 22 is a sprocket 23 which drives a chain 24. This chain drives a sprocket 28 mounted on shaft 29, which turns the strip reeling mechanism.

A third sprocket 31 mounted on the other end of the shaft 29 drives the chain 32, which in turn drives a fourth sprocket 33 mounted on a shaft 34, which drives the timing gear, and also the ribbon reeling mechanism.

The mechanism carrying the strip 35 on which the musical scores are printed through the machine will now be described. The posts 36 are mounted on the base 12, to provide supports for the bearings 37 in whichthe shaft 38 operates. Mounted on the shaft 38 is the reel 39, on which is wound a roll 41 of the blank strip.

The strip passes from the reel 39 up over the platen roll= 42,shown in Figure 6. The platen roll is supported on the shaft 43 which operates in the bearings 44 fixed 011 the deck 13. The platen roll is constrained to an axial position by the two arms 46, which are fixed to the sliding rod 47, carried in the two brackets 48, which are fixed to the under side of the deck 13.

Referring now to Figure 1, the arm 49 is fixed on the rod 47, being held in adjusted position by the set screw 51. The boss 52 D is tapped to receive the threaded shaft 53, which is journaled 11121. control panel 54 and controlled by the knob 56. pointer 57 fixed to this knob traverses the scale 58 to indicate the position ofthe platen roll; and hence of the strip relatlve to the printing hammers.

From the platen roll the strip 35 passes down and between the feed rolls 59 and 61. These rolls are supported on the shafts 29 and 62 respectively, and the shafts are journaled in the posts 63 which are fixed to the base 12. A cross member 64 is fixed between the top ends of the posts 63.

Power is supplied to rotate the lower roll 59 by the sprocket 28 as already described. The shaft 62 of the upper roll operates in the slots 66, in which it can slide up and down'to positions determined by the position of the pressure bar 67, which is mounted beneath the cross member 64 and which has upper end at 73.

depending arms 68 adapted to slide in the slots 66 and engage the shaft 62.

The pressure bar 67, and hence the roll 61, is positioned by means of the lever 69, having a rounded lower end 71, and pivotally mounted on the cross member 64. This lever is controlled by the arm 72, pivoted to its The other end of the arm 72 is pivotally connected to the lever 74, which is journaled on the control panel by the pin 76. A knob 77, extending beyond the face of the control panel, offers a medium of con tact for the operator, by means of which the movement of the strip through the machine can be controlled.

In order to keep the strip 35 tight so that its position may'be accurately controlled it is necessary to provide means to retard the rotation of the reel 39. This is accomplished by the lever arm 78 pivotally mounted on the base 12, and pressed against the roll of strip 41 by the spring 79, so that the retarding force will be applied to the strip itself and will therefore remain substantially con stant regardless of the radius of the roll 41.

The motion of the strip 35 through the machine can be started and stopped by applying or releasing the pressure between the rolls 59 and 61 by means of the pressure bar 67 and its controlling mechanism.

A trough 81 is fixed to the posts 63 to support the strip as it leaves the rolls. A serrated cutter 82, under which the strip passes, is fixed in the trough 81 to provide convenient means for severing a section of strip after a recording has been completed.

Ink is supplied for the printing operation by the ribbon 86 which can best be seen in Figure 6. The ribbon is carried on the spools 87 and 88, between which the ribbon passes over the guide, rolls 89 journaled on the deck 13 and through slots 91 in the arms 92, which hold the ribbon in position over the platen roll 42.

The spools 87 and 88 are mounted 011 the shafts 93, which are journaled in the brackets 94 fixed t0 the under side of the deck 13. The spools are driven by means of the bevel gears 96 fixed on the shafts 93. A shaft 97 is also journaled in the brackets 94 at an angle of approximately 90 to the shaft 93. This shaft drives the bevel pinions 99, and is in turn driven by means of the belt 101, which runs over a pulley 102 fixed to the shaft 97 anda pulley 103 fixed on the end of the timing gear shaft.

It is highly desirable that the ribbon be reeled from side to side automatically without attention from the operator. This is accomplished in thefollowing manner. The shaft 97 is of such length that the pinions 99 do not engage the gears 96 on both sides at once; when one pinion is engaged the opposite one is disengaged.

- In order to reverse the direction of movement of the ribbon the following mechanism is provided to change the engagement of the spool driving gears when the ribbon is almost completely unreeled from a given spool.

A fork 104 is provided about the shaft engages the collars 109 fixed on the shaft 97 Two lugs such as that shown at 111 are riveted on the ribbon near each end. These lugs are too large to pass through the slots 91.

When the ribbon is almost allreeled over to one side a lug 111 engages an arm 92 and pulls it over toward the platen roll against the action of a spring 112. The depending arm 108 presses against a collar 109 and forces the shaft over until the spring 107 is over the peak 113 of the double cone 107. The spring then contracts and completes the shift of gears and the ribbon is reeled in th reverse direction.

A section of the preferred form of strip used in the machine is shown in Figure 8. A line of perforations 114 is made along the center of the strip as shown. A treble staff 116 and a bass staff 117 are printed on the strip in such a position that the line of perforations corresponds to the line for middle C between the staffs.

The mechanism will now be described for printing the notes on these staffs as the strip is drawn through the machine at constant speed'by the mechanism described above.

It is most convenient to use the machine in conjunction with an upright piano but it can be easily adapted to cooperate with any type of keyboard in which mechanical parts move or vibrate as the notes are played. A contactor bar suitable for use with a piano is shown in Figures 9 and 10; and is shown in Figure 7 in section, together with a diagrammatic sketch of the apparatus operating in conjunction with it.

The contact fingers 118 are fixed to a long bar of non-conducting material 119 by means of the bolts 121. These fingers are preferably made of a material such as phosphor or spring bronze. They must be quite flexible in order not to retard the action of the keyboard; and must be resilient enough to follow the rapid action of the keyboard mechanism. It can be seen in Figure 7 that these fingers are in sliding contact at 122 with the lever 123 which is pivoted at 124 to throw the hammer 126 against the string 127.

An angle 128 of conducting material such as bronze is fixed along a side of the bar 119. The contact screws 129 are threaded into the angle 128 and are held in adjusted position by the lock nuts 131. A contact finger with its associated contact screw is provided for every note that is to be recorded. Fortyeight such contacts are provided for the machine illustrated herein and provide a range suflicient for ordinary work particularly pertaining to popular music and orchestrations.

A second bar of insulating material 132 is slidably mounted in a channel 133 which is fixed to the angle 128. Interposed between this bar 132 and the bar 119 are the conducting spring clips 134 having the contact arms 136 so spaced as to contact two adjacent finger bolts 121. One of these clips is provided for each interval corresponding to a black key on the piano keyboard in the range covered by a given machine. The clips are fixed to the bar 132 so that they may all be'positioned simultaneously. By this means the sharps or flats may be made to come on a line or in a space on the staffs corresponding to the white key on the piano keyboard that has been sharped or fiatted when played.

It should be noted that the lines and spaces of musical staffs correspond to the white keys only and that the black keys can be indicated on the stafl? only by indicating a sharp or flat for a white key, either beside the note or in the signature at the beginning of the piece denoting the key in which the music is to be played.

To better illustrate this point suppose that the piece being played and recorded is written in the key of E major. In this key the black keys corresponding to F, C, D, and G sharps appear on the staff as F, C, D and G natural which the the white keys just to the left of the respective black keys. These sharps can be made to appear in their proper position on the staffs by shifting the clips 134 to the right so that each black key is connected to the contactor connected to the white key to the left of it.

f during the course of such a piece the note A sharp is struck, it will also appear on the staff as A natural and it will be necessary for the operator to make mental note of that fact and go back and insert the necessary sharp sign before the note afterwards. In popular music such deviations occur ordinarily when the melody is being augmented or diminished preparatory to a variation of theme and it is not an undue burden for the operator to remembf'r such minor variations and insert them afterwards.

To translate the action of the keyboard and contactors to the recording strip an electrical conducting lead 137 is'run from each bolt 121 to the terminal of a battery 138. A lead 139 from the other terminal of the battery goes to one terminal of each of the electro-magnets 141. A second lead 142 is run from each of the contactor screws 129 to its corresponding electro-ma'gnet terminal.

An electro-magnet is provided for each note to be recorded; that is for each white key on the piano keyboard in the range to be covered, in this case forty-eight notes or six octaves. One-half of these electro-ma'gnets are mounted on top of the deck 13 and one-half are mounted on the underside of the deck 14:. Associated with each magnet is a lever 1 13 pivotally connected to a post .14 1 which is mounted on one of the decks in such correspondence with its associated magnet that the lever will pass over the center of the magnet and come to the central printing area over the platen roll 42. Fixed to each lever is an armature 146 in a position over its associated magnet. The levers and armatures are held away from the magnets by the relatively stiff springs 1 17, which provide the retractive movement for the printing operation.

On the end of each lever is a hammer 148 on the printing surface of which is the symbol for a whole note. These hammers are disposed in two lines over the center of the platen roll as can best be seen in Figure 3. It will be noted that these hammers are noninterfering and that if all forty-eight notes were struck at once they would be recorded. The hammers are so disposed relative to one another and to the platen roll as to print each note in its proper place on the staifs. However, by shifting the platen roll over by means of the mechanism already described, the notes can be printed at any desired interval above or below their normal position and a mechanical transposition of .music from one key to another obtained.

To operate the machine, the operator starts the mechanism that pulls the strip through the machine, and then plays on the piano. The music as played, is then recorded on the staffs printed on the strip. In order to as sist the operator to keep the proper time, and

' to divide the music into measures by the customary bars an electrial metronome and a. bar printing mechanism are built into the machine as follows:

A disk 151 is supported on a shaft 152 which is journaled in the frame 153 fixed to the base 12. This shaft is constrained in an axial direction by the collar 15 1 and hub 156. The disk 151 is rotated by means of a friction gear 157 which is slidably key-ed on shaft 152 and which is positioned axially by means of a fork 158 engaging a slot 159 in the hub 161 on the side of the gear. The movement of the fork 158 is controlled by the rack 162, slidably mounted on the frame 153, and the pinion 163 mounted on the shaft .164 also journaled on the frame.

On the outer end of the shaft 164 is the sprocket 166, which is driven through the chain 167 by a sprocket 168 mounted on the end of shaft 169 which is jo'urnaled in the frame 153 on one side and the control panel 54 on the other side. A knob 171 enables the operator to position the friction gear 157 as desired, and thus vary the length between the bars printed on the strip.

The friction gear 157 is operatively engaged with the face of the disk 172. This disk is supported on the shaft 34 journaled in the frame 153. The sprocket 33 drives this shaft as previously mentioned and also the pulley 103 which transmits power to the ribbon reeling mechanism. Suitable pressure is maintained between the friction gear 157 and the disk by means of the spring 17 3 and thrust collar 174 which presses against a collar 176 on the shaftSt; the entire shaft 31 being free to slide axially in its journals.

The disk 151 will then be driven at constant speed whenever the machine is in op eration. This speed of rotation may be varied, however, by moving the friction gear 157 in or out to engage the disk 172 at various points on its face.

The disk 151 through the intermediary apparatus performs the two functions of beating time and printing the bars on the staffs, as will now be described.

To indicate the time or tempo the contact pins 177-182 are disposed at equal circumferential distances on the face of the disk. The row of pins 177 gives eight beats to the measure; the next row 17 8 gives six beats to themeasure; the next row 179 four beats to the measure; the next row 181 three beats to the measure; and the inner row 182 two beats to the measure.

These contact pins control the indicating mechanism through the medium of a brush 183 which is fixed on the insulating arm 184. This arm is fixed on the adjustable rod 186 which is positioned by means of the rack 187 and the pinion 188. The rack and pinion are suitably mounted in the frame 189 which is fixed on the under side of the deck 18. The

pinion may be turned through the medium of a universal joint 191, shaft 192, and a second universal joint 193, which is fixed on a stub shaft 194: journaled in the control panel 5 1. A knob 196 fixed on the outer end of this stub shaftis accessible to the operator. A pointer 197 fixed to the knob traverses a scale 198 to indicate the setting of the brush 188 relative to the contact pins. 1

As can best be seen in Figure 7, the brush 183 is connected to a terminal of the battery 138 by the lead 199. 11 lead 201 from the other terminal of the battery is connected to a terminal of the electro-magnet 202. other terminal of this electro-magnet is connected to the disk 151, to which all of the contact pins are grounded, by the lead 203. The spring restrained armature 204 is pivotally mounted above the electro-magnet 202 and is actuated thereby whenever the brush 183 comes in contact with a contact pin as the disk 151 is rotated.

A clapper 206 attached to the end of the armature 204: by the resilient arm 207 strikes The, 1.

I a hardwood block 208 and produces a click operator. The machine proper is of course usually set away from the instrument where the noise incident to operation will not disturb the operator.

v The bar printing mechanism is controlled by the single contact pin 209 mounted adjacent the periphery of the disk 151. A second brush 211 mounted on the adjustable insulating arm 212 makes contact with this pin once every revolution of the disk 151. i This brush is also connected to a terminal-of the battery 138 by a lead 213. To complete the circuit a lead 214 connects the other terminal of the battery to a terminal of the electromagnet 216, which is mounted on the deck 13. The other terminal of this magnet is connected to the contact pin 209, through the disk 151, by the lead 217.

Pivoted on the deck 14 above the magnet 216 is the lever 218 on which the hammer 219 for printing the bar is fixed. The armature 221 is fixed on the lever 218 in operative relationship to the magnet. The lever is held up by the spring 222 which provides the retractive movement for the printing operation.

In order to adjust the position of the bars on the staffs and relative to the beats and hence the notes, the arm 212 is made adjustable. This adjustment is obtained by means of the lug 223 which is rotatably mounted on the arm 212 and which is threaded to receive the end of the shaft 224. This shaft is connected through the universal joint 226 to the stub shaft 227 journaled in the control panel 54. On the outer end of this stub shaft are a control knob 228 and a pointer 229, which in conjunction with the scale 231, enable the operator to position the bar relative to the a second sheet of paper with the customarydistance between them these lost notes would be rather diflicult to follow. This difficulty may be easily met by separating the staffs along the perforations and laying the treble staff down with the perforated line along the middle C line of the final bass staff and copying ed the has notes by means of a piece of carbon paper and'a stylus onto the I final bass staff on the second paper; and then repeating the process for the treble notes in the bass staff as recorded. Then the two staffs as recorded can be pasted in their proper position on the second sheet of paper and the stray notes previously copied erased or obliterated from the two staffs. The music is then brought to final form by adding the stems and flags to the notes, writing in the rests, naturals, sharps, flats and other indicia.

The transposing of music to different keys and the arrangement of the various instrumental parts is a heavy burden of expense to any professional orchestra. rangers and transposers' command a high salary and by present methods their time is wasted in the purely mechanical execution of their work. This invention will greatly speed up this work since the basic part of the recording is done by the machine.

It is further true that many profemional musicians think with their fingers and ears and frequently hit upon beautiful melodies while improvising that they are unable to complete and record. Even professional composers, particularly of popular music for the picture industry and professional orchestras suffer from a nervous condition that is almost paralyzing when they are confronted with the necessity of attempting to memorize the chords they are playing. By using this machine, such composers can relax and think only of the melody they are endeavoring to catch, the recording being automatically taken care of. It frequently happens that a composer will hit upon a phrase or even an entire theme of surpassing beauty that he is never able to repeat. The machine of my invention will of course record such passages and thus contribute to the aesthetic Expert arimprovementof music as well as lighten the drudgery and expense of every day work.

I claim:

1. A machine for recording musical characters corresponding to the notes played on an instrument comprising a platen over which a staff-bearing strip is adapted to pass, a plurality of means for imprinting musical characters on said strip, electro-magnetic means for operating said imprinting means, and means operative in time with the playing of the instrument for energizing the electromagnetic means;

2. A machine for recording musical char: acters corresponding to the notes. played on an instrument comprising 'a platen over which a staff-bearing strip is adapted to pass, a plurality of means for imprinting musical characters on said strip, electro-magnets for operating said imprinting means, open circuits associated with the electro-magnets and the playing mechanism of the instrument, and means associated with each note playing mechanism for closing the related circuit.

3. A machine for recording musical characters corresponding to the notes played on an instrument comprising a platen over which a staff-bearing strip is adapted to pass, a plurality of simultaneously operative means for imprinting musical characters on said strip, and selective means operative in time with the playing of the instrument for actuating the imprinting means.

4. A machine for recording musical characters corresponding to the notes played on an instrument comprising a platen over which a stali-bearing strip is adapted to pass, a plurality of means for imprinting musical characters on said strip, electro-magnetic means for operating the imprinting means, and means operative in time with the playing of the instrument for energizing the electro-magnetic means.

5. In a machine for recording musical characters on stafi's, means for imprinting bars on the staffs in spaced time relationship, and means for indicating tempo in selected time relationshipto the bars.

6. In a machine for recording musical characters on stafi's, means for imprinting bars on the stalls in spaced time relationship, means for indicating tempo in selected time relationship to the bars, and means for changing the tempo.

7 In a machine for recording musical characters on 'stafls, means for imprinting bars on the stalis in spaced time relationship, means for indicating tempo in selected time relationship to the bars, and means for varying the time and spacebetween bars and 'the tempo.

8. In a machine for recording musical characters on stafi's, means for imprinting bars on the staffs in spaced time relationship, means for indicating tempo in selected time relationship to the bars, and means including adjustable friction gears for varying the time and space between bars and the tempo.

9. A machine for recording musical characters corresponding to the notes played on an instrument cimprising a platen over which a stafi';bearing strip is adapted to pass, a plurality of means for imprinting musical characters on said strip, selective means operative in time with the playing of the in strumcnt for actuating the imprinting means,-

and means for changing the relative positions of the strip and the imprinting means.

10. In a machine for recording musical characters corresponding to the notes played on a piano, selective means associated with the note playing mechanism of the instrument, imprinting means actuated by the selective means associated with the notes corresponding to the white keys, and interconnecting means to engage the selective means associated with each black key with the selective means associated with an adjacent white key.

11. In a machine for recording musical characters corresponding to the notes played on a piano, selective means associated with the note playing mechanism of the instrument, imprinting means actuated by the selective means associated with the notes corresponding to the white keys, and interconnecting ,means optionably movable to engage the selective means associated with each black key with the selective means associated with an adjacent white key, above or below the black key.

12. In a machine for recording musical characters corresponding to the notes played on an instrument selective means associated with the notes of the chromatic scale; imprinting means actuated by the selective means associated with the notes of the natural scale of C; and interconnecting means to engage the selective means associated with each semi-tone corresponding to the black keys of a piano, with the selective means associated with an adjacent C natural tone corresponding to the white keys of a piano.

13. In a machine for 'recording musical characters corresponding to the notes played on an instrument, selective means associated with the notes of the chromatic scale; imprinting means actuated by the selective means associated with the notes of the natural scale of C; and interconnecting means optionally movable to engage the selective means associated with each semi-tone corresponding to the black keys of'a piano, with the selective means associated with an adjacent C natural tone corresponding to the white keys of a piano, above or below the black keys.

14:. A machine for recording musical characters corresponding to the notes played on an instrument comprising a platen over which a stall-bearing strip is adapted to pass, means for adjustably positioning the strip in a direction transverse its length; a plurality of simultaneously operative means for imprinting musical characters on said strip; selective means operative in time with the playing of the instrument for actuating the imprinting means; means for imprinting bars on the statl's in spaced time relationship,

and means for indicating tempo in selected time relationship to the bars.

15. In a machine for recording musical characters corresponding to the notes played on an instrument, means including opposed rollers for pulling the strip on which the recording is made though the machine at sub stantially constant speed, clutch means to very the action of the rollers on the strip, and friction means to restrain the passage of the strip through the machine.

16. In a machine for recording musical characters on stafis corresponding to the notes played on an instrument, a strip having perforations adjacent the center along the length of the strip and musical stafls printed onthe strip in such a manner that the line of perforations will comprise the line for middle C.

17. In a machine for recording musical characters on staffs corresponding to the notes played on an instrument, a strip having perforations adjacent the center along the length of the strip ,and musical staffs printed on the strip in such a manner that the line of perforations will comprise a line or space of the staffs.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand.

GATES E. UNDERWOOD. 

